Post Classical Africa

Chapter 3 Pg 59-83 MW

Early African Societies and the Bantu Migration

• Egyptians preserved bodies of the dead through mumification
  1. The embalmer first used a metal hook to draw the brain out of the nostril
  2. Then they would remove the internal organs by making an incision along side of the abdomen
  3. They would then wash the organs with palm wine and sealed them in stone vessels
  4. After that they would wash the body and fill it with spices and aromatics and covered it for about two months with natron
  5. After two months they would wrap the body with fine strips of linen covered with resin
• When the Egyptian people were entombed their relatives came by periodically and give food and presents
• Egyptians believed that life and death was like an agricultural cycle; crops grew, died and then came back to life in another season
• Agriculture flourished throughout the Nile valley
• Egyptian and Nubian traded with the Mesopotamians Phoenicians and Africans

Early Agriculture Society in Africa

• Egypts agriculture economy was great because of it's geographic condition

(a) Climate change and the Development of Agriculture in Africa

• Today's Saharan Desert is dry with no vegetation but in 10,000 B.C.E. it was a grass steppe land with numerous lakes, rivers, and streams.
• Man human inhabitants of the region hunted wild cattle and collected wild grains or fished of the lakes and rivers
• From 9000-6500 BCE sudanic people went from collecting wild grains and being nomadic herders to raising sheep, goats and growing yams, gourds, watermelons, and cotton
• Agricultural productivity allowed Sudanic people to organize small scale states
  
  
• 5000 B.C.E. many sudanic people formed small monarchies ruled by kings
• Sudanic people entombed their deceased kings and often executed his servents to continue serving him in the after life
• After 5000 B.C.E. Northern Africa experienced a huge climate change
• The climate became much hotter and dryer, and because of that it became increasingly arid and unihabital
• Fed by rain in the high mountains of east Africa the Nile is the largest river in the world
• Before completion of the dam at Aswan the Niles accumlated water left behind very fertile soil

(b) Egypt and Nubia "Gifts of the Nile"

• Egypt was referred to back then to the ribbon of land bordering the lower third of the nile between the Mediterranean and the rivers first cataract near Aswan
• Cultivators moved east towards the Nile Valley because the Sahara became increasingly more arid
• Egyptians were able to take better advantage of the Niles annual floods then Nubia because of its broad like floodplains
• Around 10000 B.C.E. migrants from the Red Sea hills in northern Ethopia traveled down the nile valley and introduced to Egypt and Nubia the practice of collecting wild grains
• After 5000 B.C.E. when the climate became too arid Sudanic cultivators moved down the Nile or north to Egypt because the Nile flows from south to north
• Egyptian cultivators went into the flood plain in the late summer after the recession of the Nile annual flood, sowed their seeds without extensive preparation of the soil allowed their crops to mature during the cool winter months and harvested them between the late winter and early spring months
• Nubians relied on more on prepared field and irrigated water from the Nile
• Demographic pressures soon forced people away from the Nile Valley and called for more sophisticated agriculture because of less fertile soil
• Denser populations called for creating states and recognize official authorities
• By 4000 BCE agricultural villages along the Nile began to trade with eachother
• 3300 BCE small local kingdoms became a public life for Egyptian people

(c) The Unification of Egypt

• By 3500 BCE political and economic competition fueled numerous small scale wars between Nile kingdoms
• On of the strongest territories was the Ta-Seti a Nubian realm that flourished from 3400-3200 BCE
• After 3100 BCE Egyptian rulers forged all of their territories between the Nile delta and the rivers first cataract as a united kingdom
• A conqueror named Mones from southern Egypt (Known as upper Egypt since the Nile flows north) founded the city of Memphis near modern day Cairo and it served as Menes capital
• Menes built a centralized state ruled by the Pharaoh (Egyptian king)
• Egyptians associated the Pharaohs with the sky god Horus
• Later they viewed them as the sun god named Amon
• The Pharaohs powers was greatest during the first millennium of Egyptian history the eras known as the Archaic Period (3100-2600 B.C.E.) and the Old Kingdom (2660-2160 B.C.E.)
• The biggest symbol of Old Kingdom is the pyramids
• The pyramids consisted of 2.3 million limestone Blocks weighing in at an average of 2.5 tons and can be as heavy as 15 tons
• The estimated laborers was 84,000
• Tensions began between Nubia and Egypt and it led to frequent violence throughout the Archaic period and the Old Kingdom which led to the pharaonic forces destroying the Nubian kingdom Ta-Seti
• After the destruction of Ta-Seti another powerful kingdom emerged it was called Kush
• Kush dominated the upper nile and occasionally threatened southern Egypt

(d) Turmoil and Empire

• High agricultural productivity made several regions of Egypt so prosperous and powerful that they were able to ignore the pharaohs and pursue their own interests

As a result the central state declined and eventually disappeared altogether during a long session of political upheaval and social unrest (2160-2040 B.C.E.)

• Pharaonic authority returned in the reign of the Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.)
• Not as powerful as the Pharaohs in the Archaic period and the New Kingdom
• Egypt became under great pressure from a tribe in southwestern Asia called Hyksos
• Hyksos were horse riding nomads and had more advanced weaponry then the Egyptians
• The Hyksos eventually captured the city of Memphis in 1674 B.C.E.
• Working from Thebes and eventually Memphis Egyptian leaders eventually pushed the Hyksos back and founded an entirely new period called the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.E.)
• Instead of building pyramids the Pharaohs built temples, palaces, statues to advertise their power and authority
• Tuhmosis lll reigned (1479-1425 B.C.E.) had seventeen campaigns that he led personally to Syria and Palestine
• He turned his attention towards the south and restored Egyptian dominance in Nubia
• Egyptian armies destroyed Kerma the capital kingdom of Kush
• After New Kingdom Egypt entered a long period of political and military decline
• Local resistance drove Egyptian Forces out of Nubia and southwest Asia the Kushite and Assyrian forces invaded Egypt
• Nubian Leaders Organized organized a new kingdom of Kush with a capital at Napata
• King Kashta conquered Thebes around 760 B.C.E. and founded the Kushite dynasty that ruled for about a century
• During mid seventh century B.C.E. Assyrian forces invaded the Kushites

The Formation of Complex Societies and Sophisticated Cultural Traditions

• The Egyptian economy succeeded because of its geographic setting it linked lands to southwest Asia, the eastern mediterran and sub-saharan Africa and this made Egypt a huge trade center

(a) The Emergence of Cities and Stratified Societies

• Thebes a city in Egypt played an important role as a political center
• Heliopolis meaning "City of the Sun" was founded in 2900 B.C.E., it was headquarters for a sun cult near Memphis, and a big cultural center for Egypt
• Tanis another big city was a bustling port and a gateway to the Mediterranean Sea
• Nubian cities were not as famous as Egyptian cities were but history shows that they were just as important and powerful as Egyptian cities
• The most powerful city of Nubia was Kerma it dominated both riber and oberland routes between Egypt to the north and Sudanic regions to the south
• After it was destroyed by Egyptian forces Kerma another city emerged Napata became the new political center of the world
• When Assyrian forces pushed the Kushites farther south its capital folled them to a new city called Meroe
• Meroe became very wealthy because of its participation in the Nile trade network
• Egyptian slaves and peasants played a big role in society by supplying hard labor
• Egypt relied on professional military forces and an elaborate buraucracy of administrators and tax collectors who served the centeral government instead of relying on nobles who gave their position upon birth
• Nubia was a site for a much more complex hiearchial society in ancient times
• Nubia structred their cemetaries on the wealth of the deceased person if your were wealthy you had an elaborate structure filled with paintings and expensive goods
• Often their servants would be executed and be buried with them to serve them in the after life
• Graves of commoners were much simpler with a few few gifts and personal belongings
• Both egyptian and Nubian societies built patriarchal societies that vested authority over public and private affairs in their men
• Women had an ifluence to and much more compared to ancient Mesopotamian women in some cases women became pharaohs in both societies

(b) Economic Specialization and Trade

• Both Nubian and Egyptian societies were very slow technology wise compared to the societies in Mesopotamia and Asia
• After Assyrian forces invaded Egypt they exposed their bronze weapons to egyptian societies which in effect made Egypt producing broze weapons to
• Nubia lacked of bronze for a while until 1000 B.C.E. when their society came across iron
• The Nile was excellent scource of trade because the current let boats travel north and if they had a sail the prevailing winds would blow the boat back south against the current
• In Nubia it was harder to travel by the Nile River because the cataracts made it almost impossible so they transported goods overland before continuing on the river
• Egypt and Nubia traded an ambundant of recourses on a regular basis
• Egypt also traded with mesopotamia beginning around 3500 B.C.E.
• By 3000 B.C.E. Egypt was trading with most of the Mediterranean societies
• Egyptians also traded with societies along the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea
• In Nubia people spoke their own language but also alot of people were very fluent in the Egyptian language
• Nubian people also used the Egyptians hieroglyphics
• Egyptian influence was really high in Nubia they had statues of pharaohs and they promoted their beliefs in hieroglyphics

(c) Early Writing in the Nile Valley

• Writing first appeared in Egypt around 3200 B.C.E. possible because of Mesopotamian influence
• Most of their writing cosisted of pictographs or hieroglyphics from two Greek words meanning "Holly Inscriptions
• The hot and dry climate of Egypt preserved not only mummies but also a large number of papyrus texts
• There was a different type of hieroglyphic that the Egyptians used it was called hieratic (priestly) script it was a simpied cursive of hieroglyphics
• Hieratic disapearred after the middle of the first millennium when Egyptians adapted the Greek alphabet
• The Satire of the Trades written during the Middle Kingdom by a scribe exhorting his son to study diligently the work detailed all the miseries of associated with 18 different professions
• After the transfer of the capital to Meroe Egyptian influence seemed to decline when Nubians developed the Meroitic language

(d) The Development of Organized Religous Traditions

• Both Nubian and Egyptian societies both believed that deities played a prominent roles in the world
• The main gods in Egypt were Amon and Re
• Amon was origonally a loca Theban deity associated with the sun creation, fertality, and reproductive forces
• Re was a sun god worshiped at Heliopolis
• The cult of Amon-Re faced a monotheistic challenge from the god of Aten another deity associated with the sun
• Atens champion was a pharaoh Amenhotp IV (reigned 1353-1335 B.C.E.) who changed his name to Akhenaten in honor of his preferred deity
• Akhenaten and others devoted to Aten considered their deity the one and only god
• Akhenaten built a new capital city called Akhetaten ("Horizon of the Sun") located at modern day Tell el-Amarna
• When Akhenaten died traditional priets launched a huge counter attack and restored the cult of Amon-Re and nearly annihilated the worship of Aten
• Many Egyptians believed that death was not an end but a transition to a new dimension of existance
• Wealthy families would help their deceased love ones obtain their immortality by mummification
• The cult of Osiris attracted a large amount of people
• According to the story Osiris's evil brother Seth murdered him and scattered his parts throughout the land, but the victims wife Isis retrieved his parts and gave him a proper burial the gods impressed by her devotion the gods restored Osiris's life
• The Egyptian people associated Osiris with the Nile (which flooded, retreated, and then flooded again the folowing year) and with their crops (which similarly grew, died and then sprouted again)
• Following their death individual souls faced the judgment of Osiris who had their hearts weighed against a feather symbolizing justice, those with heavy hears carrying burden of evil and guilt did not receive the gift of immortality
• The most prominent Nubian deities was the lion-god Apedemak often depicted with a bow and arrow who served as a war god of the kingdom of Kush
• Another Nubian deity was Sebiumeker who was the creato god and divine guardian of his human devotees
• Bantu Migrations and Early Agriculture Society
• Bantu migrations spread to most regions of Africa south of the Sahara and supported the emergence of distinctive agricultural societies

(a) The Dynamics of Bantu Expansion

• The origonal Bantu language was one of many related languages in the larger Niger-Congo family of languages widley spoken in west Africa
• The earliest Bantu speakers inhabited a region embracing the eastern part of modern Nigeria and the southern part of modern Cameroon
• The earliest Bantu speakers settled mostly along the banks of rivers, which they navigated in canoes, and in open areas of the regions forests
• They grew a fair amount of plants and raised a fair amount of animals including sheeps and goats
• They lived in clan based villages headed by cheifs who conducted religous rituals
• By 3000 B.C.E. they were slowly spreading into the west African Forests and by 2000 B.C.E. they have expanded they have expanded rapidly to the south toward the congo river basin and east toward the Great Lakes
• Bantu people made effective use of canoes in the Niger, Congo and other rivers
• Agriculture surpluses enabled bantu populations to increase more rapidly
• After about 1000 B.C.E. the pace of the Bantu migrations began to quicken when Bantu people began to produce Iron tools and weapons

(b) Agricultural Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa

• Many other societies besides Bantu migrate
• Spread of agriculture to most of sub-Saharan Africa by 1000 B.C.E.
• Mostly small communities led by chiefs with "age sets" and initiation rites
• Religious differences by area
  • Some worship single, impersonal divine force representing good and bad
  • Many individuals pray to ancestors and local gods for intervention
• Much mixing and intermingling of cultures

STATES AND SOCIETIES OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

• Sundiata's father ruled a small west African kingdom
• When the old king died, his enemies invaded the kingdom and killed the royal offspring, sparing Sundiata because they thought his crippled leg would keep him from interupting their efforts
• Sundiata overcame his injury and learned to use a bow and arrow. He became so strong he was becoming feared and was exiled. During this period he gathered a cavalry at the kingdom he was staying at
• 1235, Sundiata returned and took the throne
• Within a few years, he established the Mali empire and spread his rule throughout the Niger River valley
• Built capital city at Niani
• Mali became probably the wealthiest land in sub-Saharan Africa
• Died in ~1260

EFFECTS OF EARLY AFRICAN MIGRATION

• By 1000, Bantu-speaking people settled in most parts of Africa south of the equator, while Kushite, Sudanese, Mande, and other peoples established communities as well
• Agriculture and Population Growth
  • After 500 BCE the Bantus possesed iron metallurgy, which they used to fashion axes, adzes, and hoes.
  • By early centuries CE cultivation and herding had reached the southern-most parts of Africa.
  • Yams, sorghum and millet were the dietary staples of many peoples
  • Indigenous Khoi people adopted cow raising before Bantu and Kushite herders moved into the region
  • Bananas entered Africa by way of sea lanes across the Indian Ocean
  • Yams, taro, chickens, and tradtions were also brought over
  • Between 300 and 500 CE the Malay seafarers colonized Madagascar and established banana cultivation
  • By 500 CE several varieties of banana had become well established in Africa.
  • Bananas increased supply of food and allowed for rapid expansion of the BAntus
  • In 400 BCE, the population of sub-Saharan Africa was around 3.5 million. By the turn of the millenium, population grew to about 11 million. By 800 CE, population was at 17 million, and by 1000 the population was about 22 million
• African Political Organization
  • Instead of migrating in search of new lands, African peoples developed increasingly complex forms of government to organize existing societies
  • Stateless society was widely prevalent; these societies did not depend on an elaborate hierarchy of officials or a bureaucratic apparatus
  • Bantu peoples governed through kinship groups
  • Male heads of families made up the village ruling council
  • Most prominent male became the chief and represented the village when dealing with neighbors
  • No chief for a district (group of villages)
  • Population growth strained resources
  • Conflicts between villages and districts became more often and more intense
  • This caused communities to make military forces and in turn called for a formal structure of government
  • Most districts fell under leadership of powerful chiefs
  • Some chiefs conquered neighbors and formed small kingdoms (which emerged after about 1000 CE)
  • Ife and Benin were both city-states in whcih the court and the urban residents controlled the surrounding countryside
  • After about 1000 CE, population pressures and military challenges encouraged kinship based in the Congo region to form small states
  • By 1200 conflict between these small states resulted in larger, regional principalities that could resist politcal and military challenges better than small kingdoms
  • The Kingdom of Kongo came to embrace much of modern day Republic of Congo and Angola
  • Kongo's government
    • -Central government: kings and officials who oversaw judicial, military, and finacial affairs
    • -6 provinces administerd by governors
    • -several districts administed by subordinate officials
  • Central goverment maintained a royal currency based on cowries (seashells from Indian Ocean)
  • Provided effective organization until the mid-17th century when Portugese slave traders undermined the authority of central gov't

ISLAMIC KINGDOMS AND EMPIRES

• Islam arrived by coming in from the west overland by trans-Saharan camel caravans and in from the east overseas.
• Trans-Saharan Trade and Islamic States in West AFrica
  • The arrival of the camel quickened the pace fo communication and transportation across the Sahara
  • About the 7th century BCE camels came into north Africa from Arabia by way of Egypt
  • After 300 CE, camels had replaced horses and donkeys as transport animals
  • By the late 8th century, Islamic merchants had crossed the desert and established commmercial relations
  • The kingdom of Ghana became the most important commercial site in west Africa
  • Provided gold (most important), ivory, and slaves for traders from north Africa
  • Exchanged for horses, cloth, manufactured goods, and salt
  • Koumbi-Saleh, capital city of Ghana, a thriving commercial center
  • Ghana kings converted to Islam by the tenth century, didn't force on others
  • Nomadic raids from the Sahara weakened the kingdom in the early thirteenth century
• Sundiata, or lion prince, built Mali empire (reigned 1230-1255 C.E.)
  • Controlled and taxed almost all trade passing through west Africa
  • Enormous caravans linked Mali to north Africa
  • Besides the capital Niani, many other prosperous cities on caravan routes
• Mansa Musa, Sundiata's grandnephew (reigned 1312-1337 C.E.)
  • Made his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-1325 with huge caravan
  • Upon return to Mali, built mosques
  • Sent students to study with distinguished Islamic scholars in northern Africa
  • Established Islamic schools in Mali
  • Decline of Mali due to factions and military pressure from neighbors and nomads
  • The Songhay empire replaced Mali by the late fifteenth century

• The Indian Ocean Trade and Islamic States in East Africa

• Indian and Persian sailors visited the African coast after about 500 BCE
• Hellinistic and Roman mariners sailed through the Red Sea en route to the same coast.
• Malay sailors ventured into west Indian Ocean in late centuries BCE, and established colonies on Madagascar by the 4th and 5th centuries CE.
• Limited trade opportunities due to east AFrican people still being a hunting gathering society
• 2nd century BCE, Bantus introduced agriculture, cattle herding, and iron metallurgy to east AFrica
• Founded complex societies governed by local states (Swahili society)
• Moved to coast regions and islands as well as interior regions
• Swahili means "coasters" referring to those engaged in east african trade
• Swahili was a Bantu language with Arabic influences
• 10th century, Swahili traded with the Muslims to receive gold, slaves, ivory, and exotic products in exchange for pottery, glass and textiles.
• 11th and 12th centuries, trade had brought tremendous wealth to coastal east
• Local chiefs increased authority and influence by controlling and taxing trade.
• Trade was most concentrated in Mogadishu, Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Kilwa, Mozambique, and Sofala (all developed into powerful city-states)
• Villages in the interior of Africa had buildings made of dried mud and wood.
• 12th century, contracted larger buildings of coral
• 15th century, main towns had stone mosques and public buildings
• Ruling elites and wealthy merchants dressed in silk and fine cotton and had porcelain tableware from China.
• First inhabitants of Kilwa relied on fishing and engaged in minor trade around 800-1000 CE
• Imported stoneware and pottery from other regions in east AFrica.
• 13th century, began to use copper coins as currency and started building multiple story stone buildings
• Between 1300 and 1505, Kilwa enjoyed tremendous prosperity
• That was also when Portugese mariners sacked the city devastatingly
• Population 12,000
• Residents Imported cotton, silk, perfumes, and pearls from India and porcelain from China
• Merchants imported gold (ton per year), slaves, and ivory
• Best known kingdom in Africa at the time was Zimbabwe
• "Dwelling of a chief"
• 13th century, Great Zimbabwe began to arise near Nyanda in the modern state of Zimbabwe.
• Stone walls 5 meters thick, 10 meters tall
• Served as the capital of a kingdom between the Zambesi and Limpopo rivers.
• 15th century, almost 18,000 lived at the Great Zimbabwe
• Stretched from Sofala into the interior of south central Africa
• Control over gold, ivory, and slaves allowed for the kings to make alliances with local chiefs and make profit from transactions
• Trade converted east Africa to Islam
• Used Islam to lay a cultural foundation for close cooperation with Muslim merchants; still kept their religious traditions to provide cultural leadership
• This established the prescence of Islam which eventually attracted the interests of larger circles

African Society and Cultural Development

• Sub-Saharan Africa spoke around 800 languages
• Hunting gathering, fishing, nomadic herders, substinence farmers, settled cultivators, and city-based societies.

Social Classes

• Kingdoms, empires, and city-states had clearly defined classes
  • -Ruling Elites
  • -Military Nobles
  • -Administrative Officials
  • -Religious Authorities
  • -Wealthy Merchants
  • -Artisans
  • -Business Entrepeneurs
  • -Common people
  • -Peasants
  • -Slaves
• In small states, there was always a ruling elite, but the social standings were determined mosty by kinship, sex and gender expectation
• Private property did not exist in sub-Saharan Africa
• Villages consisted of several extended family groups
• Male heads of families governed and organized work for their groups; allocated communal lands and distributed harvests equitably
• Workers with special skills were typically men (Leather tanning was a job for a man with knowledge of techniques and tanning compounds)
• Blacksmithing was a highly prestigious skill because they knew the secrets of turning ores into useful objects.
• Women in blacksmithing families were usually potters (also highly prestigious for the ability to turn ingredients from earth into useful vessels)
• Men did the heavy labor of clearing land
• Women and men took part in planting and harvesting crops
• Women tended to domestic chores and child raising
• Women in sub-Saharan Africa usually had more opportunities open to them than east African
• Enjoyed high honor as source of life
• Women merchants actively participated in both local and long-distance trade.
• Women even engaged in combat sometimes
• Upper-class Muslim women wore veils and led secluded lives
• Muslim women in sub-Saharan Africa socialized freely and worked openly in ways not permitted in other Islamic lands
• Age grades arose in the early days of agriculture in the Sudan
• Age grades did tasks according to their age level and often bonded with one another to form tight circles of friends and politcal allies.
• Age grades aided members who were experiencing adversities.
• Most slaves were captives of war
• Others were suspected witches, criminals, and debtors
• Slaves worked as agricultural laborers, construction laborers, miners, or porters
• Accumulation of slaves allowed individuals to increase agricultural production, and go up in society
• 9th century, increased traffic in slave trade
• Muslim merchants provided access to India, Persia, southwest Asia, and the Mediterranean basin where the demand for slaves was higher the supply
• Slave raiding became increasingly popular
• Rulers of large states or empires went to war with smaller states in search of captives to send to the northern slave markets
• 10,000 to 20,000 Africans were raided from their homes to be slaves
• Zanj refers to the black slaves on Swahili coast
• At least 7th century, Zanj slaves worked in southern Mesopotamia under harsh conditions working on sugarcane plantations or clearing land of salt deposits
• 869, Ali bin Muhammad organized 15,000 slaves into a revolt and captured Basra (most important city in southern Mesopotamia)
• Mesopotamian rulers turned their full attention to the rebellion in 879
• By 883, they had crushed the rebellion and killed bin Muhammad
• Between 750 and 1500 CE there were 10 million slaves traded

• African Religion

  • Although the African dieties had different names, stories, and were honored in different rituals, there were still certain things similar between all religions
  • Many people recognized a single, male god as the one responsible for starting the world up and giving it order
  • Some believed that this diety indirectly influenced human affairs
  • Some belived he was all-knowing, all-powerful, or both
  • Also recognized lesser gods associated with wind, sun, rain, trees, rivers, and natural forces
  • These lesser gods participated in the workings of the world
  • AFricans believe the souls of the departed had the power to shape events to give an advantage to a descendant
  • Rituals focused on dieties, spirits, or departed ancestors to win favor or gain good will
  • Rituals included prayer, animal sacrifices, and ceremonies marking stages of life--birth, circumcision, marriage, and death.
  • Africans recognized classes of religious specialists (diviners) who mediated between humanity and supernatural beings
  • Usually intelligent males who understood political, social, economic, and psychological relationships in communities who understood political, social, economic, and psychological relationships in communities.
  • When affected by illness, sterility, crop failure, etc. people consulted diviners to consult oracles. Then identified medicine, rituals, or sacrafices to eliminate the problem
  • African religion concerned the practical business of predicting, controlling, and explaining experiences of individuals
  • Religion strongly emphasized morality, otherwise it would displease dieties and ensure misfortune
• The Arrival of Christianity and Islam
  • Arrived in Africa as a foreign religion introduced by foreign peoples
  • 1st century CE, Christianity reached north Africa
  • Alexandria in Egypt became a prominent center for Christian thought
  • Merchants were probably the converts to Christianity, followed by the Axumite kings
  • Missionaries later established monastaries, translate the Bible to the Ethiopian language, and worked to popularize Christianity
  • Christianity didn't reach sub-Saharan Africa
  • 4th century, Christianity gained a foothold in Axum (modern day Ethiopia)
  • 7th century, ruling house of Axum fell into decline and the expansion of Islam left an island of Christianity in the Ethiopian highlands
  • 12th century, new dynasty took over and promoted Christianity as a faith that could provide cultural unity to the land
  • Ethiopian kings ordered the carving of 11 churches out of solid rock
  • Solomonic dynasty claimed descent from Israelite kings (thirteenth century)
  • Kebra Negast fictionalized account of lineage; was popular with Rastafarians
  • Ethiopian Christians belived evil spirits populated the world and carried amulets or charms to fend off these spirits
  • 16th century, Portugese mariners visited Ethiopia and established relations with Christians from other lands
  • By that time the Portugese had already introduced the Roman Catholic faith to those in the Kongo area, spreading Christianity to sub-Saharan Africa
  • Islam appealed to ruling elites and merchants strongly in sub-Saharan west Africa and coastal east Africa
  • Converts took the religion seriously and built mosques, founded religious schools, invited in experts of Islamic law, and displayed real enthusiasm
  • Africans who converted to Islam continued to take protective measures against evil spirits
  • Ibn Battuta took deep offense when he saw women socializing with men and when he saw women walking in just loin cloths.

5 Themes

Interaction between Humans and the Environment

• Traded with India and Persia
• Egypt Was a huge trade center do to its location
• Traded Sub-Saharan

Development and interaction of Cultures

• Most African religions recognized a single male deity that created the world
• But did have lesser gods
• Islam was brought to Africa overseas to the east
• Christianity was never brought through most of Africa

State-building, expansion and Conflict

• Rulers controlled tax on all trade through west Africa
• Pharaohs were the rulers of Egypt
• Often attacked by others
• Egypt and Nubia later had Patriarchal Societies

Creation, Expansion and interaction of Economic Systems

• Traded as far as Mesopotamia and Asia
• Did not migrate to new land stayed where they were and built complex societies
• Hellenistic and Roman sailors came to and through Africa’s surrounding waterways such as the Red sea

Development and transformation of social structures

• Men were still dominate but women did have more power than in other places
• Societies were normally one of the following: Hunting gathering, fishing, nomadic herders, sustenance farmers, settled cultivators, or city-based societies
• Had a vary hierarchal society with Ruling Elites at the top